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Routing the post mortises SUPPORTING THE ROUTER When mortising the posts, there's not much surface area to support the router. A second post laid beside the workpiece adds support. 4/4 stock planed to sion that these posts came from one piece of wood, I ripped some cherry to about in. thick, and used it as a thick veneer on the sides of the posts that showed the glueline. Although this technique also results in gluelines, they're so close to the corners of the posts that they're barely noticeable. \1! Floating tenons speed construction As with traditional mortise-and-tenon joints, floating tenons should be about one-third the thickness of the stock. In this case, the finished thickness of the bookcase rails is % in.; the tenons are � in. thick. Accordingly, I cut the mortises with a �-in. spiral upcurring bit on a plunge router using a simple jig (see photos, facing page). I make the tenons by ripping and plan- ing lengths of stock to fit the mortises. The tenon edges are bullnosed on a router table. The tenons should be thick enough to slip into the mortises with hand pressure, and a little undersize in width to give air and excess glue somewhere to go. The mortises are just over 3,4 in. deep; I cut the tenon stock into 1 Y2-in.-long pieces. Mortise and groove the frame I mortise the posts using a plunge router and a fence. The bit is the same �-in. spiral upcutting bit used to mortise the rails and stretchers. I have to set up the router and fence anyway to groove the posts SEPTEMBER/OCTO BER 2005 0l in. To give the illu- for the side panels and shiplapped back, and the panels are the same thickness as the tenons. So, cuning the mortises at the same time is only a matter of deepening the groove at the top and bottom of the post. To provide additional support for the router, I place a second post alongside the one being routed (see drawing, right). So as not to strain the router bit, it's important Workpiece 35